Maurice Ashley American chess player, the first and only black grandmaster. Date of Birth: 06.03.1966 Country: USA

Biography of Maurice Ashley

Maurice Ashley, an American chess player, was born on March 6, 1966, in St. Andrew, Jamaica. He spent twelve years there before his family moved to Brooklyn, USA. Initially, a young Ashley developed an interest in chess while observing his older brother play. Eventually, Maurice started playing chess himself and could often be found playing with his peers on the benches of Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The park was always filled with chess enthusiasts, and it was there that Maurice met Willie Johnson. Although not a grandmaster himself, Willie Johnson was a professional chess player, and he and Maurice became close friends.

Maurice attended New York City College and later decided to share his love and knowledge of chess with young people. In 1989, he organized the chess club "Raging Rooks" at Adam Clayton Powell Junior High School in Brooklyn. In 1990, one of his students won first prize at the junior championship in Salt Lake City. The following year, Maurice established another club, this time at Mott Hall Middle School in Harlem. The club was called the "Dark Knights," and in its first year, the team of seven members won the National American Middle School Chess Championship. This was an incredible success, and Maurice Ashley was hailed as one of the best youth coaches in the United States.

However, Maurice wanted more, and he decided to pursue a professional career in chess. In 1993, he became the first African-American chess master in history after winning the prestigious Marshall Chess Club Championship. In 1995, Maurice commentated on the World Chess Championship match between Kasparov and Anand. In 1996, he released the CD "Maurice Ashley Teaches Chess," which was praised by experts for its genius as it catered not only to beginner chess players but also to experienced ones. In 1997, Maurice commentated on the famous match between Kasparov and IBM's "Deep Blue" program. It was then that he solidified his determination to become a professional player, leaving his coaching job and dedicating himself entirely to training.

In 1999, after performing well in several international tournaments and winning a couple of national ones, Maurice Ashley became the first and, so far, the only African-American international grandmaster in the history of chess. In 2003, he was recognized as the best grandmaster in the United States.